I mostly knew Simon in a work capacity through a shared interest in cell wall research. Simon was always enthusiastic, kind and incredibly supportive towards others in the research community. I was always struck by his willingness to collaborate and share ideas and expertise and to give his time to people. Simon was the examiner for my PhD viva and made the experience a very lovely one, some of the ideas that we discussed during that exam have formed the basis of my research today. I am very sorry to hear about his untimely passing, it will be a great loss to all who knew him and also a huge loss to the cell wall community as a whole. Sincerest condolences.